In 1988...

Martial law was finally lifted in all parts of Turkey in July 1987, but a state of emergency is still in effect in nine out of sixty-seven provinces.

After martial law was lifted in November 1985 the press experienced an extraordinary surge in freedom to cover political debate and to publish accounts of human rights abuses including torture. Newspapers now quite openly criticise Prime Minister Ozal and members of his government, but not President Evren or the military.

Recently, the government has confiscated magazines in large numbers and the banning of books appears to be systematic and thorough… All of them have been declared ‘means of separatist propaganda’ by the Turkish authorities for containing articles or maps related to the history of the Armenians or the Kurds. Read more...

In 2008...

Turkey is a republican and secular State and made up of different ethnic and religious groups. The State is headed by a president elected by the Turkish Grand National Assembly for a seven-year term. However, the army has always acted as the protector of secularism and the indivisibility of the State, and in the past has interfered in the political process. In 1999, Turkey was recognised as an EU candidate State and has adopted several reform packages in the areas of human rights, democracy and the judiciary to comply with EU accession requirements. However, some of these reforms are not yet fully implemented. In 2005, Turkey began negotiations to join the EU.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has Islamist roots. The Republican People’s Party (CHP), the main opposition party and historically the voice of secularists and Kemalists (supporters of the secular republicanism and nationalism promoted by Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk), has been critical of the AKP’s reforms, its policy on headscarves and secularism, and its relations with the EU.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, was nominated by the Prime Minister as presidential candidate, in Spring 2007. Gul was an AKP member and, although seen as a moderate, the opposition and the Army feared an Islamist agenda. Gul failed to secure in Parliament the votes necessary for his election, and a political crisis followed which led to early general elections on 22 July 2007. In these, the AKP received overwhelming popular support by winning more than 46 per cent of votes (341 seats in Parliament). The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) did not run as a party due to a ten per cent election threshold, but supported ‘independent candidates’ who campaigned for direct mandates. Twenty-two of them won seats – the first time a pro-Kurdish party has won representation in Parliament since 1991. Abdullah Gul subsequently succeeded in being elected President in August 2007.

Legal and Regulatory Framework

Freedom of expression is guaranteed by law; however, some laws include excessively broad limitations and tend to be loosely interpreted. Provisions in the Constitution amended in 2001 guarantee freedom of expression, including freedom of art and science, freedom of the press and the right to publish periodicals and non-periodicals.

Article 26 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression in the form of speech, writing, pictures and other media, as well as the right to receive and impart information. It can be restricted on the grounds listed in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) but also on the grounds of ‘safeguarding the indivisible integrity of the State with its territory and nation’ and ‘protecting basic characteristics of the Republic’. The latter two clauses have been interpreted loosely by the judiciary and Turkey has frequently violated Article 10 of the ECHR, often imposing restrictions that were not proportionate and necessary in a democratic society.

Turkey’s Press Law gives the press the right to receive and disseminate information, and protects the criticism, interpretation and creation of works. The Freedom of Information Act guarantees citizens and foreigners the right to receive information from public bodies and an appeal can be made to the Right to Information Assessment Council. The Act was a revolutionary development in Turkey, although it is not well known to the public. Nevertheless, some cases have shown that the restrictions in the Act can be unduly applied.

The Turkish Penal Code (TPC) includes several provisions that are in breach of the right to freedom of expression. Article 301 prohibits publicly denigrating ‘Turkishness’, the Republic and State institutions, and provides for imprisonment of up to three years. Article 216 prohibits any attempt to turn sections of society that differ on the basis of religion, race, sect, social class or region against each other. The penalty is three years’ imprisonment if the attempt impacts on public safety. This provision could be used against ‘hate speech’, although so far, in all cases but one, it has been used to prosecute people criticising State policies or commenting on issues such as the Kurdish question. A new criminal offence of ‘propaganda for the aims of a terrorist organisation’ was introduced in the TPC in 2004 and the Anti-Terror Law (ATL) in 2006. Consequently, many forms of expression that resemble statements by a banned organisation can lead to prosecution. Other changes criminalise written and verbal statements aimed at influencing judges, prosecutors, experts and witnesses before a final court decision. Both the TPC and the ATL foresee increased penalties when offences are committed by media.

Political Expression

‘Questioning sensitive subjects such as the role of the military, secularism, the Kurdish conflict or the 1915 massacre of Armenians can easily lead to prosecutions.’

With a 10 per cent electoral threshold to enter Parliament, one of the highest in the world, the Turkish political system does not encourage representation of small or marginal parties. Furthermore, provisions of the Political Parties Law and the TPC that allow for the closure, prosecution or imprisonment of party members have been used against pro-Kurdish and Islamist parties. Hundreds of members of the pro-Kurdish DTP were detained in the first half of 2007. Expressions made in non-Turkish languages may also lead to prosecution. Osman Baydemir, Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality in Diyarbakir and a Kurd, was charged under Article 222 of the Penal Code for issuing New Year’s cards in Kurdish, besides Turkish and English. Ironically, he was only prosecuted for the use of Kurdish, not for the use of English.

Questioning sensitive subjects such as the role of the military, secularism, the Kurdish conflict or the 1915 massacre of Armenians can easily lead to prosecutions. Nobel prize winner Orhan Pamuk was accused of denigrating ‘Turkishness’ under Article 301 of the TPC for saying in an interview that ‘one million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds were killed on this territory’. The case was dropped after it prompted widespread international and national attention.

According to Independent Communication Network (BIA) estimates, 100 people have been charged under Article 301 since the changes to the TPC came into force in June 2005. In 2006, 35 cases were commenced under Article 216, seven people were sentenced under Article 301, and 13 people were acquitted. A total of 293 journalists, publishers and activists were tried for their opinions in 2006.

‘Generally, women’s rights activists and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups receive more favourable treatment now than in the past, although all may face prosecution for criticising government policies or the judiciary.’

Prosecutions include that of Abdullah Demirbas, Mayor of Sur District in Diyarbakir, who was accused of ‘propaganda for the aims of a terrorist organisation’ for commenting on the need to provide public services in other languages, including Kurdish. He was acquitted in September 2006 but dismissed in June 2007 by the 8th Division of the Council of State (the highest administrative court) after the Municipal Council voted to provide services in different languages, whilst not questioning the status of Turkish as the official State language and not using any languages other than Turkish in official correspondence. The Council was also dissolved. The judgement of the 8th Division was overturned by the Plenary Session of the Administrative Law Divisions in July 2007, a decision the 8th Division appealed against. The appeal is pending. Other municipalities in western Turkey have been providing some services in different languages (such as English) and have never been subject to any administrative or legal prosecution. Criminal investigations are now under way against the former Mayor, the council members and the Mayor of Diyarbakir who had approved the decision.

The chief editor of Radikal Daily, Ismet Berkan, and other journalists have been accused under Article 288 of the TPC of trying to influence the judiciary. The Article has been used for legal proceedings against people who comment on prosecutions, trials or human rights violations.

Generally, women’s rights activists and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups receive more favourable treatment now than in the past, although all may face prosecution for criticising government policies or the judiciary. An authorised LGBT groups’ demonstration was banned in Bursa in August 2006 after activists were threatened and attacked by some civilians. On 1st May 2007, a Labour Day demonstration in Taksim Square in Istanbul faced a severe police response.

News Media

The State broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) has four television channels and 10 radio stations. According to the regulator (RTUK), there are 23 television stations with national coverage, 16 with regional coverage, 102 licensed to broadcast via satellite, and 68 cable stations. However, the BBC estimates that there are approximately 300 television broadcasters. RTUK says there are a total of 94 radio stations in Turkey, compared with the BBC’s estimate of a thousand private stations.

Due to reforms adopted for EU accession, the TRT began to broadcast radio and television programmes in ‘traditionally spoken languages’, including Kurdish, once a week. Private networks were also permitted to broadcast in these languages, but for only four hours per week on television and five hours on radio. Television programmes must be shown with subtitles in Turkish and radio broadcasts must be followed by the same programme in Turkish. Children’s and language programmes cannot be broadcast in these languages. Diyarbakir regional Gun TV (Day TV) started to broadcast in Kurdish according to these limitations.

Capital concentration in media is high in Turkey. According to the Office of the Prime Minister’s Directorate General for Press and Information (BYEGM), there are 21 news agencies, 53 national newspapers, 23 regional newspapers, 2,381 local newspapers, 2,522 magazines and 14 news websites. The Dogan group, a powerful business, owns several television stations and newspapers. Influential media owners at times are said to foster self-censorship on sensitive topics and hinder the development of investigative journalism.

New Technologies

The Internet arrived in Turkey in 1993 and there are currently 16.5 million users, 23.2 per cent of the population. Broadband connection is costly, reducing the number of potential users.

Until May 2007 there was no special law on the Internet, but the Press Law and the TPC were applied. Launching a web portal and administration does not need prior permission. In April 2007, access to the websites Antoloji, Super Poligon and Eksi Sozluk, featuring literature and media criticisms, was blocked by a court decision; access to Antoloji was re-established after an appeal. Access to YouTube was blocked for a few days after showing a video ‘insulting’ former President Atatürk and unblocked upon the video’s removal.

In May 2007 a law on the Regulation of Broadcasts via the Internet and Combating Crimes Committed Through These Broadcasts was adopted. This entitles prosecutors, courts and, when the service or the content provider is outside Turkey, the Presidency of Telecommunication Communication to block access to a website used for committing crimes such as encouraging suicide, child sexual abuse, the use of drugs, supplying things dangerous for health, obscenity, prostitution, and supplying a place and facility for gambling, as well as crimes listed in the Law on the Crimes Committed Against Atatürk. Blocking access to entire websites due to only a part of the content is criticised by freedom of expression groups in Turkey.

According to the Ministry of Transport, there are 74 million (recorded and non-recorded) mobile phones in Turkey and 54 million users.

Repression of Media Workers

Nationalism has increased dramatically in politics and within society and at times led to attacks against journalists. Hrant Dink, a well-known Turkish-Armenian journalist and chief editor of AGOS Weekly, was given a six-month suspended sentence by Sisli District Court in October 2005 for ‘denigrating Turkishness’.

‘Nationalism has increased dramatically in politics and within society and at times led to attacks against journalists.’

Nationalism has increased dramatically in politics and within society and at times led to attacks against journalists. Hrant Dink, a well-known Turkish-Armenian journalist and chief editor of AGOS Weekly, was given a six-month suspended sentence by Sisli District Court in October 2005 for ‘denigrating Turkishness’. The judgment was upheld by the Court of Appeal and focused on one statement (taken out of context) in an article that Hrant Dink had written on the Armenian diaspora, calling on Armenians to stop their blanket hatred of Turks. He was also tried for calling the 1915 massacre of Armenians ‘genocide’; for saying he was an Armenian, not a Turk; and for criticising the sentence given to him. He was portrayed as a ‘traitor’ by some media, threatened and attacked by extremist nationalists, and eventually assassinated in January 2007 in front of his office in Istanbul. No measures were taken to protect him, despite the threats. The family’s lawyer has criticised the authorities for failing to initiate an investigation against the ‘real’ perpetrators and the officials who neglected to protect him.

According to the BIA, 26 journalists were attacked, seven threatened, two media institutions attacked and three websites hacked into by people calling themselves nationalists in 2006. Reporters Without Borders noted three bomb attacks in May 2006 on the leftist-Kemalist daily Cumhuriyet; the killing by police of Devrimci Demokrasi reporter Ilyas Aktas in April 2006 during demonstrations in south-east Turkey; and the use of tear gas and violence against journalists covering demonstrations on 1 May 2007.

There are contradictory figures on journalists imprisoned on account of their work. According to the Press Council in April 2007, one journalist was in prison for reasons connected to his work: he was the chief editor of the newspaper Devrim Yolunda İşçi, Köylü and was charged under Article 301 of the TPC and Articles 5, 6/1, 7/2 and 8/2 of the ATL. The Press Council suspects that 19 other journalists may have been imprisoned for their work, but does not have sufficiently conclusive evidence. The ‘We Want Freedom Campaign’ website stated that 25 journalists were in prison as of September 2006.

The military and other State institutions have allegedly refused accreditation to ‘inconvenient’ journalists.

Media Censorship

Although Article 28 of the Constitution states that the press is free and shall not be censored, all media can be censored under constitutional provisions and other laws. Article 28 of the Constitution enables the suspension of distribution and seizure of articles, periodicals and non-periodicals that are connected to crimes against the State, such as ‘threatening the internal or external security of the State or the indivisible integrity of the State …’.

The office of the weekly magazine Nokta was raided by security officers after publishing an entry from an alleged diary of a Turkish army member that mentioned a failed military coup. All data in the computers were copied. Later, an investigation was initiated against the chief editor and Nokta’s owner decided to close the magazine down.

‘The regulator RTUK can issue warnings and even suspend programmes or stations for broadcasting against “purposes of national education” or items that contain “expressions exceeding criticism of someone”.’

Judges and competent authorities have the power to suspend publications for a short period (around 15 to 30 days) if the publications openly incite the public to commit terrorist crimes or praise crimes, criminals and terrorist propaganda. Gundem Daily was suspended for 30 days and later for a further 15 days under this provision.

The regulator RTUK can issue warnings and even suspend programmes or stations for broadcasting against ‘purposes of national education’ or items that contain ‘expressions exceeding criticism of someone’. While nation-wide broadcasters are usually given warnings and rarely face suspension, regional and minority broadcasters are subject to many days of suspension, usually on allegations of causing ‘incitement to hatred’ in society. According to the BIA, television stations were prevented by security forces from broadcasting live from Taksim Square on 1 May 2007 for several hours without a court decision.

Art Censorship

Freedom of art is guaranteed by Article 27 of the Constitution. However, this right cannot be exercised in a way that questions the first three Articles of the Constitution, which define the State as a Republic and its language as Turkish, and include provisions on the qualities of the State, such as indivisibility and secularism.

The Law on Cinema, Video and Musical Works allows the governors of provinces and districts to prohibit works that may lead to any social ‘incident’ based on local particularities. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the governors of provinces and districts can ban works on grounds similar to those stated in the Constitution.

The film Buyuk Adam Kucuk Ask was banned on the grounds that it portrayed the police using disproportionate violence and committing extrajudicial killings and that it had a chauvinist approach towards Kurdish identity.

Although the use of non-Turkish languages in art and culture is not legally prohibited, restrictions are sometimes applied. In May 2007, the Governor of the Kiziltepe District banned the performance of Dario Fo’s The Accidental Death of an Anarchist on grounds of ‘protecting national security and public order’. The makers and organisers of the play alleged that it was banned because it was in Kurdish; the Turkish version of the play has been performed in public theatres for a number of years.